Ni No Kuni: Return to the Other World
by Imagimanga
Summary: A year has passed since Oliver has decided to live his life to its fullest yet he cannot seem to make new friends. As summer rolls around and the school year ends, Oliver journeys back to Ni No Kuni to find that there is a new threat and that good friends are not that easy to find. !Dropped Work!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: She does not own the story or artwork of Ni No Kuni. Her drawings suck so please do not compare her to Studio Ghibli because Studio Ghibli is too amazing for her.**

 **AN: JSUK, the story takes place one year after the first journey but this chapter is a prologue, eight years before Oliver's first journey.**

NINE YEARS AGO

"Agh!" a man yelled as he fell to the ground. He grabbed the general's ankle. "Please! Help us!"

"Move!" the general ordered, kicking the man's hand away. "This is an emergency! All must move out of the way!"

"Why can't you help us?" cried a woman.

"Move!" the general demanded.

With the soldiers and servants on his tail, they pushed the gigantic cart down the path. The cart was five yards wide and three yards tall with wood walls. A white tarp covered the top of the cart. The tarp hugged the items bulging out the top revealing indistinct shapes of many sizes. Behind the cart was a carriage quickly moving along the path with soldiers pressed to its sides.

At the end of the path was a pier hovering above the air.

"Quick! Into the boat!" yelled the general.

Quickly, the soldiers and servants loaded the boat with the treasures inside of the cart. A servant took hold of the knob on the door of the carriage.

"Ahhh!" someone yelled behind them.

"The soldiers and servants stopped to look back at their home. They watched in utmost horror as the tallest tower in their home collapsed to the ground and into dust. The general watched as his home was burned to the ground. A colossal ball of fire shot into the air. He quickly turned to the soldiers and servants with a look of fear in his eyes.

"Now!" he shouted.

The servant opened the carriage door. Something trembled in the seat of the carriage. He picked the girl up and shoved her into the boat as it floated away.

 **AN: Short prologue, but I'm guessing you guys don't like prologues, anyway. Chapters will be MUCH longer than this.**


	2. The Pieces of Heart

**Disclaimer: She does not own Ni No Kuni and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.**

ONE YEAR AFTER THE FIRST JOURNEY

-Ichi No Kuni-

Oliver looked out the window to his left. The rain started to die down and clouds cleared out of the sky. He turned back to the front of the classroom and listened to the clamor of students.

"I can't believe you lost your assignment and are now asking me to help you!" a girl scowled.

"I'm asking you because everyone else doesn't know where it is!" a boy protested. "Not like I _wanted_ to ask you."

"Excuse me?!"

Oliver's gaze settled on a paper in a desk in the from of the room. He got up and walked to the desk to pick up the paper. Oliver took a deep breath. Hopefully, he would be able to do it this time and blow it.

"Is this it," Oliver asked, handing the paper to the boy, "Willis?"

Willis blushed and took the paper. Embarrassed, the two walked back to their seats in silence. Oliver's smile faltered. He could not seem to make more friends. The only Motorville friends he had were Phil, Myrtle, and Denny. If he could just make a few more friends he could then not feel as lonely.

He walked back to his seat and sighed. He counted down the days until summer break.

 _Two more days. . . ._

-Ni No Kuni-

Esther lied down on the dock. She closed her eyes and listened to the birds chirping in the distance. This was a relaxation time. She was far away from the dust in Al Mamoon- not that she did not love her home, she just did not feel like having dust fly into her mouth all the time. She opened her eyes. The sky was blue and cloudless. Perfect for a nice dip into the ocean.

"Are you just going to lie there?" the mayor of Castaway Cove asked her.

"Oliver is coming to visit us again in a few days, this might be my only 'me time' in a while!" Esther giggled.

The mayor laughed heartily. "I see!"

Esther chuckled and sat up. "I suppose Swaine is with Drippy right now, causing some disaster or something."

"You'd think Swaine would be fixing his disasters not causing more," the mayor said, rolling his eyes.

Esther laughed.

"You best get going. If Oliver is coming back soon, don't you want to greet him _properly?_ " the mayor said.

"I guess getting him a present would be nice. After all, it's been about a whole year without a proper visit from him," Esther contemplated.

"You could get him some alchemy ingredients," the mayor advised.

"That sounds good . . . but I want something he will really like," Esther thought aloud.

"I'm sure you'll find him something," said the mayor.

"Thank you," Esther smiled.

The mayor left Esther's side to tend to his work. Esther looked at the clear water. What would Oliver like? A new familiar? No, that seemed too small. New weapons? That was too small as well. Esther sighed and stood up. She was one of Oliver's best friends, she should know what to get him.

She walked to the Cat's Cradle. She paused when she reached the doorway. She felt something inside of her. She placed her hand over her heart. She felt . . . strange. As if something was happening to her heart.

 _My piece of heart. . . ._

She warily looked around. Was somebody tampering with her heart? She shook the feeling off and continued into the Cat's Cradle. But the feeling just grew inside of her.

~A DAY LATER~

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Swaine yelled. "WHAT WILL WE DO?!"

"At times like these, we best run!" Drippy screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"Shut youer mouth! It will just make it worse, mun!"

"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!"

"SHUT YOUER FLIPPING MOUTH!"

Rocks crumbled from above their heads. Drippy and Swaine ran even faster. They could see the small ball of light glow brighter as they ran. Rocks crumbled in front of the exit.

"RUN FOR YOUER FLIPPING LIVES!" Drippy yelled.

The thief and fairy dashed out the cave. The rocks fell behind them, blocking the cave from entrance or exit.

"If you didn't scream so much-!" Drippy argued.

"Me? You kept on yelling too!" Swaine protested.

"You yelled louder!"

"How can you tell? Do you have some kind of machine that measures sound waves?"

"Because youer words were in all caps you annoying little-"

"Ugh! We have to stop arguing! We won't be able to meet Oliver tomorrow if we keep on doing this."

Drippy sighed, "Youer right, mun."

"Look, we better move! I don't want Esther getting mad at us for arguing again!"

The two shivered. They remember what happened last time.

The thief and fairy headed down Old Smoky. They had journeyed around the volcano to see if there were any new caves. Fortunately for their hard work, there was a cave. Unfortunately, they'll most likely never see the inside of that cave ever again.

When they reached the foot of the volcano, Swaine paused.

"What is it, mun? Get a flipping move on, will you?!" Drippy asked.

"It's nothing. . . ." Swaine said, hand over his heart.

"Nothing, eh? Well, that explains why you have such a pained look on your face, en't it?" Drippy shook his head.

"Pained look?" Swaine echoed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh well, if youer so fine I guess we can move along then," Drippy said.

Swaine nodded. He bit his lip. He knew what Drippy meant. He knew he himself was in pain. Why? Oliver had mended his heart, why did it start hurting again? He thought of the piece of heart he was missing when they had first met. Swaine grew worried. Would he start acting up again? He tried to shake it off like Esther. Alas, just like her, the feeling had only worsened.

 **AN: Hmmm... Not a very good first chapter, in my opinion. But that's all I had for a beginning. Not a very good start for the story but I hope I get better with stringing the plot together soon.**

 **Please don't forget to review! If you have any ideas on what to happen in the story, please don't hesitate. I might not be able to act on every single idea but I will definitely think about every single one!**

 **I don't really know if it was good enough, but I hope you like it!**


	3. Return to the Other World

**Disclaimer: She does not own Ni No Kuni.**

Swaine smirked. "Why are you so worried, are you in love?"

Esther glared at him evilly. Drippy snickered and hopped up to grab one of Rashaad's babanas.

"Just because you're one of us doesn't mean you don't need to pay for that," Esther told him.

Drippy sighed and put the babana down. He did not have any money to pay for the babana.

"Where is he? Is he okay?" Esther asked, looking around.

Then, just as if on cue, a flash of light blinded the three, revealing a fourteen year old boy. He wore a blue tunic with a brown belt around his waist, white trousers, brown shoes, a red cape, and a necklace around his neck.

"Oliver!" Esther and Swaine called in unison.

"Ollie-boy!" Drippy called as well.

"Mr. Drippy! Esther! Swaine!" Oliver called out.

Oliver stepped forward and smiled. Esther and Drippy rushed to him and embraced him in their arms (this was a bit hard for Drippy, as his arms were incredibly short). Oliver, slightly shocked, hugged the two back. Esther turned her head to look at Swaine.

"Come on, Swaine," she urged.

"I'm perfectly fine right here, thank you!" he responded, but Drippy and Esther pulled him to Oliver for a big group hug.

With Oliver in the middle of the hug, Esther and Drippy squeezed Swaine especially hard just so he would not break away. After the hug, they talked about Oliver's life in his world.

"Oh!" Esther remembered. "Here, Oliver, a present." She turned to the babana stand. "Dad! Oliver's here!"

Oliver gasped. "Neato!" He placed the gift in his bag.

Drippy turned to Oliver. "Hey, do you have any guilders? I want a babana but apparently there's no discount for us friends of Esther."

Oliver handed a few guilders to Drippy and the fairy put the guilders in a box and grabbed a babana.

Rashaad appeared from behind a curtain of cloth and smiled widely. He joined the four and made conversation.

"Oliver, was everything alright in your world?" Rashaad asked.

"Um," Oliver hesitated, "Everything was great! I missed you guys, though!"

"'Course you missed us! 'Specially me!" Drippy said.

"I think he missed us all equally," Esther crossed her arms while glaring at Drippy.

"Hey, so what are we going to do?" Swaine asked the other three.

"Um, bounty hunts?" Esther asked.

"Nah, I'd like something a bit more adventurous, mun," Drippy shook his head causing his nose lantern to shake.

"We could go see if we can dig up that cave on Old Smoky," Swaine offered.

"That's sounds like a plan!" Drippy said.

"I'm tired of staying in hot weather, it's all I've been through for the past year," Esther told them.

"You want us to go to the Winter Isles, then?" Swaine asked half jokingly.

"Actually," Esther sad, "that sounds like a great idea!"

"We could try finding a hidden passage in the Glittering Grotto!" Drippy piped.

"I was just joking-"

"What do you think, Oliver?" Esther asked.

Oliver thought for a moment. "I like it, let's do it."

"I said I was just joking. . . ." Swaine said.

"Well, it's three against one. We're going to the Winter Isles!" Esther said.

"I don't like the cold, it's so . . . cold," Swaine complained.

"Then, you shouldn't have given us the idea, eh?" Drippy grinned.

Swaine sighed as the other three went off to the town entrance.

* * *

"Tengri, it's been a long time!" Oliver patted the dragon's muzzle.

The dragon roared and wagged his tail like a dog.

"We better move or he's going to hit us with his tail," Swaine observed.

"Right," Oliver responded.

Oliver, Swaine, Esther, and Drippy hopped up onto Tengri's back.

"Tengri, we're going to the Winter Isles. It's northwest from here," Oliver instructed.

Tengri roared in response and jetted towards the Winter Isles.

"Here," Oliver said, handing the others' winter coats, mittens, and boots.

"Thanks," Swaine and Drippy said.

"Thank you," Esther said.

After a conversation (or argument, depending on whom you ask) about familiars, they spotted the Winter Isles.

"Put on youer stuff, everybody," Drippy commanded.

Everyone slipped on their coats, mittens, and boots. Swaine swung the hood over his head while his teeth started to chatter.

Tengri descended and the four jumped off his back.

"Bye, Tengri! See you soon!" Oliver waved good-bye as Tengri flew back up.

"Time to find that secret passage, everyone," Drippy said.

"Okay, time to go!" Oliver smiled.

"Is it just me or is it colder than usual?" Swaine asked.

"Stop fooling around, it's not any colder than the first time we went here," Esther sighed.

"Are you sure?" Swaine asked. "It definitely seems colder than usual."

"Probably because you spent two flipping days on Old Smoky right before this," Drippy told him.

"You were there, too!" Swaine yelled.

"We fairies don't get very hot. Cold; yes. Hot; no." Drippy explained.

"Well, it's still cold," Swaine huffed.

"Before we go to Glittering Grotto, I want to go to Yule first," Oliver announced.

"Alright, we'll go. Plus, that means Swaine can heat himself in front of a fire and be quiet," Esther said.

* * *

"No one's outside," Oliver remarked.

"Did something happen?" Esther asked.

"Most likely," Swaine answered.

"What do you think happened?" Oliver asked as they continued walking.

"Do you think they evacuated?" Esther questioned.

"Maybe I was right, and everyone left because it was too cold," Swaine reckoned.

"That's _your_ opinion! Stop being such a baby!" Esther yelled.

"Most of these people lived here for their whole lives, like they would evacuate because it's too cold," Drippy rolled his eyes.

"I don't think they evacuated," Oliver quipped.

"What?" the others asked simultaneously.

"If they evacuated, why is there someone moving in that house?" Oliver asked.

Everyone saw a woman in the nearby house moving around. The house's door burst open and a seven year old child ran out the door excitedly.

"Wait for me!" she shouted.

"Me too!" another seven year old girl shouted from the door.

"Wait for your brothers, you two!" their mother ordered.

"Hurry up!" the two girls shouted at their brothers.

"We're coming," the two brothers said.

The brothers ran out the door and caught up to their two sisters.

"Hurry! Daddy's already there!" the twin girls shouted at their mother.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," the mother said.

The mother walked out the door and caught up to her children. She smiled as the four kids ran out of the town excitedly.

"What's going on?" Oliver asked the woman.

"Oh, there's a ship!" the woman replied.

"A . . ." Esther said.

"Ship?" Swaine asked.

"Not to hurt anyone's feelings, but . . . how's a ship so exciting?!" Drippy asked. "I mean, all it does is float on water and get across large bodies of water! Nothing exciting!"

The woman giggled. "Oh, sorry, it's not just any old ship."

"It isn't?" Oliver asked.

The woman's eyes sparkled. "It flies."

 **AN: Okay, first things first, I actually do not know what Esther's present should be so that's why I didn't tell you what it was. . . .**

 **And I will restrain from making Peter Pan references and puns but that does not mean Oliver will restrain from doing it as well . . . which means Oliver can call Drippy "Tinker Bell" but apparently Oliver is too nice to do that.**

 **Any way . . . hope you enjoyed that! Please review and you can read more about Oliver's new journey in "Chapter 3: The Flying Ship" next time. :)**


	4. The Flying Ship

**Disclaimer: She does not own Ni No Kuni or Peter Pan.**

* * *

Oliver, Swaine, Esther, and Mr. Drippy pushed to the front of the immense crowd. The group looked up and saw a ship bigger than their own! Mr. Drippy frowned.

"It's a big ship, alright. But there's no flying."

"Do you expect a ship to always fly?" Esther implied.

"This reminds me about a story I once read about," Oliver commented.

"What was it about?" Esther asked.

"It was about a girl and her brothers. A boy who never aged named Peter Pan and his fairy friend Tinker Bell brought them to a place called Neverland. They ended up battling pirates on a ship and won. They were able to make the ship fly with pixie dust and the girl and her brothers were finally able to go back home."

Esther and Swaine couldn't help but look at Mr. Drippy.

"What? Do I have something on my face- other than my lantern?"

"A fairy, huh?" Swaine chuckled. "Maybe I should call you Tinker Bell from now on!"

"That's," Esther giggled, "not funny, Swaine."

"You're laughing, too!" Swaine chuckled some more.

"I'm giggling," she giggled, "there's a difference!"

"Oy, if it weren't for me, Ollie-boy would have never fixed your broken hearts!" Mr. Drippy fumed.

Swaine and Esther stopped smiling and chuckling and giggling. They had forgotten about the pain that happened a few days ago.

"Look! Look!" a little boy cried.

Everyone looked up to see a teenage girl on the ship. She wore a blue scarf around her head. Her brown eyes sparkled as the wind blew her brown hair around her. She wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black shorts down to her knees and brown ankle boots.

"There's no one else up there," Esther commented.

"She gets to operate that ship by herself?" Swaine asked in awe.

"Neato!" Oliver gushed.

The girl jumped down from the ship and landed on the soft snow. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and she looked around.

"Excuse me, does anyone here know how to fix a flying ship?" she asked the crowd.

The crowd bustled but no one answered.

"She really thinks a random person would know how to fix a flying ship?" Swaine whispered.

"No one?" she asked. "Maybe some one who is good at fixing things, then?"

"Swaine, couldn't you do it?" Esther asked.

"Wha-"

"Yes! Thank you very much for helping me!" the girl yelled, running towards Swaine.

"Hey! I didn't say I would fix it!" Swaine protested while wondering how she could possibly hear Esther.

"You're saying you didn't say you would fix it which implies that you possibly know how to fix it, but don't worry, I'll make you fix it for me," the girl said while pulling him onto the ship.

"Can we come?" Oliver asked.

"Sure, go ahead. Don't touch anything, though," the girl answered.

Oliver, Esther, and Mr. Drippy shuffled onto the ship with them. Esther, Oliver, and Mr. Drippy stared in awe as they looked around. Here and there would be maps and telescopes and barrels full of food.

The girl pulled Swaine towards the steering wheel of the ship. She started telling him about the ship and how to fix it. Suddenly Swaine had an idea.

"Hey, Oliver. Over here."

"Yeah?" Oliver answered and walked over to Swaine.

"Why not use one of your spells on the ship-"

"What! No way," the girl shook her head. The others stared at her, surprised. "Sorry, but even if he was an expert wizard, the ship is way too complicated for a spell to fix it."

"Really?" Oliver asked.

She nodded. "The ship itself is mostly magic. If you use magic against magic, what do you get?"

"Well . . ." Oliver said.

"Chaos!" she grabbed Oliver's shoulders. "Absolute chaos!"

"O . . . Okay. . . ." Oliver stuttered.

She pulled away from him. "Sorry," she said, "but you absolutely can't use any magic on my ship."

"Alright, then," Swaine mumbled, annoyed, "guess I have to fix it normally."

"Wait, I helped Phil make a car. I can help you if the ship is anything like it," Oliver offered.

"Thanks," Swaine pat him on the back.

"So how does the ship work?" Esther asked.

"The levitation spell keeps it afloat," the girl explained. "It's a bit complicated, but that is all I really know about this ship. You see, I've been on it for a while."

"If you've been on it all this time, shouldn't you know more about it?" Mr. Drippy asked.

"Well, obviously I'm finding out more about it every day," she said. "But I was and am the only one who maintains this ship."

"So you take care of this all by yourself? You can go anywhere without anyone arguing with you on where to go?" Esther asked. "It must be fun."

Esther saw her smile weakly and look down at her feet.

"Yeah. It is." She then looked back up to Esther. "I get to go everywhere! I mean, there's so many places to be!"

"Pardon me, but where did you find this ship? Not like you could buy this anytime you want to," Mr. Drippy questioned.

"I think we're done!" Swaine announced.

"Really?" the girl turned to look at the boys' work.

"It wasn't that hard, right?" Oliver smiled.

"Pretty quick to fix," Swaine agreed.

"I know it's a bit too late to ask," Esther said, "but what's your name?"

"Name?" the girl looked up.

Esther nodded.

"Riya," she answered. "Yours?"

"Esther," Esther introduced. "That over there is Swaine, Oliver, and this is Mr. Drippy."

"Pleasure to meet you," the girl smiled.

"Ours as well," the others chimed.

"Well, looks like-" Riya suddenly paled.

"What is it?" Mr. Drippy asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"You don't feel it moving?" she asked.

The four others paused and then rushed to the boat's side.

"It's moving!" Oliver cried. The people of Yule waved them good-bye, not knowing what has happened.

"No way! I'm not even steering the ship!" Riya ran to their side.

"Why is it moving?" Esther looked over to Swaine.

"No. No! No!" Riya ran back to the wheel. The others joined her. "You two didn't use any magic? At all? No lies? Any magic? Even a little?"

"No magic," Oliver promised.

"Then what did you use?" she looked at Swaine.

"This," Swaine pulled his gun from his pocket.

"What is it? A cannon of some kind?" she asked reaching for it.

"You've never seen a gun before?" Swaine asked pulling it our of her reach.

"It won't stop moving, you all better hurry before we get stuck in this ship forever!" Mr. Drippy cried.

"A gun?" Riya pulled at her hair.

"So you do know what a gun looks like."

"Of course I do, but this one looks too complicated to be normal! It might be worse than magic!"

"How? All I did was retrieve something keeping the gears from moving using my gun."

"You . . . retrieved . . . something?" Riya stopped pulling her hair and shook him. "What was it?"

"This," Swaine held up a locket of some kind. "What is it?"

"That is a locket filled with magic to keep the ship under my control!"

"So what do we do about it?"

"Put it back!"

"How?" Esther asked. "The gears are turning too fast for us to put it back carefully-"

A sudden burst of wind caused them to fall to the floor. The five stood back up, trembling.

"It's going faster!" Oliver yelled over the wind.

"Someone has to put it back!" Riya grasped the wheel to keep from falling.

"I'll do it!" Oliver volunteered.

"What if you get hurt?" Esther asked.

"It will be okay! I promise!" Oliver promised.

"It better!" Riya seethed through gritted teeth. "I don't want to clean blood off the floor!"

"I- It will be fine. . . ." Oliver smiled weakly.

"No! I'll do it! I'll use the gun to put it back!" Swaine pulled Oliver away from the gears in the floor.

"You're going to use the cannon?!" Riya fumed.

"It's not a cannon!" Swaine put the locket around the claw of his gun. Swaine and the others fell to the floor again and rolled to the other side of the ship. Swaine cursed and everyone stood back up.

"What happened?" Esther asked.

"It's starting to rise!" Riya's eyeball's bulged out of their sockets. "The ship can't rise! It can't! We have to stop it!"

"Why?" Swaine questioned.

"We'll hit the floating islands!" Riya answered.

Swaine cursed again and made his way to the other side, holding on to the rails to keep from falling. He finally made it to the gearbox in front of the wheel. He held on to the wheel.

If I hit it the gear, the locket will bounce off and who knows where it will end up, he thought.

He aimed his gun to the middle where he had the best chance of making it.

"Island!" Esther warned Swaine. "Hurry!"

He did not turn his back to the wheel to look at the island. He looked at the moving gears, waiting for the moment.

"Swaine! We'll hit the island!" Esther yelled.

He did not move.

"Swaine!"

He pulled the trigger. The gun's claw moved out and toward the middle of the gearbox. Closer. Closer. No. Swaine grimaced. The claw hit the gear and the locket bounced off the claw. He lunged toward to grab the locket before it fell. He felt the ship's floorboards against his chest, his gun in his hand, the locket in the other, and the force of a crash behind him.

* * *

 **AN: Oh, dear . . . what will happen to Oliver and his friends? Who is this new friend of ours? Will all of them survive the crash? What about Mr. Drippy's unanswered question? And the pain in Swain's and Esther's hearts? Where exactly did they crash? Sorry, but I won't be answering those questions just yet. . . .**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Next time: "Chapter 4: Panic"**


	5. Panic

**AN: Hello, everyone! Did you see the new _Ni No Kuni: Revenant Kingdom_ trailer yet? Are you excited? I'm pretty excited myself. I'm kind of hoping that Oliver and the gang _at least_ cameo. (Possibly even find out who Swaine's other is...) But it'd be fine if they didn't. It would be bad, though, if what happens in Revenant Kingdom makes my fanfic untrue. (Yeah, I stick to what's canon. It's like a universal law to me.)**

 **If you are reading this, and have stayed faithful to this story, please have a virtual cookie. _Hands out virtual cookies to my Readers_**

 **Disclaimer: He will never be able to own Ni No Kuni.**

* * *

Oliver never had felt this much pain since the fight against the white witch. When he opened his eyes, it was like crashing onto Teeheeti again. He groaned and sat up. Esther, Riya, and Mr. Drippy had already woken up. Esther seemed to be waving her arms out to Riya in an attempt to calm her down.

"Riya, it's okay!"

"No, it's not! Do you know how hard it will be to fix this mess? If simply fixing the motor of the ship leads to us crashing into a random floating island, what will trying to fix the whole ship do to us? I can't calm down! This is my ship! My only method of transportation!"

"Calm down. It's not that bad." Mr. Drippy told her.

"Yes! Yes, it is!" she raged. "I don't understand what is wrong with you all! This is more than terrible! This is more than bad! It is worse than any worst I have ever meant!"

"Stop being so over-dramatic," Mr. Drippy sighed.

Oliver did not want to get up. His head and body hurt. His eyes could hardly open. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to rest. He turned to his back and looked towards the other direction. "Wh- where is Swaine?"

"Swaine?" Esther repeated.

"He's not-" Mr. Drippy began.

"So the fault ran away?" Riya grumbled.

"Swaine . . . would never do that," Oliver interrupted. "He would never run away."

"Oliver's right," Esther agreed.

"Um, Ollie-boy," Mr. Drippy whispered after jumping towards Oliver, "might I remind you of the Hamelin incident."

"The past doesn't matter right now!" Oliver shouted, his brows knotted together. "We have to find him!"

"Yes, Oliver," Riya sarcastically said, annoyed, "let's all wonder off around this floating island and hope we don't fall off and die. I know! I've heard of bandits living in the floating islands that like to take your insides apart. That would be much better!"

"Look, Riya," Esther informed, "if we don't do something then what we get is nothing."

"I am doing something!" Riya huffed. "I just don't understand why you all are so stupid enough to think that wandering around here is safe!"

"Well, we have to find Swaine. And if Swaine is okay, we'll be okay," Oliver said.

"The faster we find him, the better," Esther added.

"You really think that's such a good idea?" Riya asked rhetorically.

"I know that we can find Swaine," Oliver said with a smile, "I know that we'll be okay."

Riya huffed once more: "What a load of b-"

"What," a male voice asked, "are you guys up to?"

"Swaine?" Oliver called out.

"Swaine? He's here?" Esther queried.

"Oh, hey, did you find food?" Mr. Drippy asked.

"Do you really think I found food in the time I was gone?" Swaine asked rhetorically.

"Well, we weren't really paying attention to how long you were gone," Riya mumbled.

"Five minutes," Swaine said. "That's how long I was gone."

"I'm kind of hungry. . . ." Mr. Drippy mumbled.

"I guess you'll have to wait, then," Swaine said with annoyance in his voice.

Oliver sat up and looked around. He felt guilty for wanting to go to sleep. Everyone was hurt, tired and stressed. Riya had a terrible frown on her face as she stared at the sand. Esther wore a worried look while she rubbed her arm out of habit. Mr. Drippy sat on the beach rubbing his stomach. Swaine's legs were shaking from the walk he just took. Everyone wanted to go home as much as he did.

"Calm down, everybody," Oliver said, standing up. "It's not like this is the first time Esther, Swaine, Mr. Drippy and I got stranded on an island." He looked at Riya. "We all want to go back. We can do that if we do this together."

Esther smiled. "Thanks, Oliver."

"Alrighty, then," Mr. Drippy exclaimed, "let's get going, shall we?"

"Wait," Riya interjected. "Flying ships are rare. What if we can't find any parts?"

"I guess you can just stay here, then," Swaine answered, crossing his arms. "We will find provisions and food in the meantime."

"What?!" Riya did not sound fond of the idea of the others finding help while she was away. "And how will I know that you're telling the truth?"

Swaine and Mr. Drippy looked at Oliver. "Oliver?" Swaine and Mr. Drippy unisoned.

"Wha-?" Oliver started. He looked at the two and got the memo. "We- we will come back, Riya. I promise."

Riya's face scrunched up in suspicion. It wasn't enough to relieve all of the doubt. "No," she objected, "I'm going."

"Brilliant!" Swaine exclaimed exaggeratedly.

"Don't start," Riya grumbled, stressing every word as she pointed a finger at Swaine's face.

"Are we going now?" Esther asked.

"We're all ready!" Oliver grinned.

Off they went, looking around for people or small towns.

* * *

"Did you hear something?" Swaine asked.

"Hear what?" Oliver asked.

"Something in the trees. . . ." Swaine answered.

"I think I heard something, too," Riya answered Swaine's original question.

"Up in the trees . . . ?" Esther looked up and around.

"There must be something in your head, you two," Mr. Drippy sighed.

"Wait," Oliver said.

They stopped moving. There was a buzzing sound above them. It was faint, but it was there.

"Where is it coming from?" Oliver asked.

"I'll go check." Mr. Drippy hopped off and climbed up the trees.

"Don't you think," Esther whispered, "that we should have encountered some creatures by now?"

"Yeah. . . ." Oliver answered.

"It is strange how there aren't a lot of creatures here," Swaine added.

"That's not something to be worried about," Riya said. "Floating islands don't have many creatures because of the fatality rate. Only flying creatures are on floating islands."

"Fatality?" Swaine echoed.

"You really think that if we jump off the beach we were just on and into the air we would float?" Riya asked rhetorically.

"I'm sorry," Swaine said, "that we non-floating-islanders don't know any floating island trivia."

"IT'S A PART FROM THE SHIP!" Mr. Drippy's voice rang out.

"MY SHIP?!" Riya asked.

"Do you think there are any other flying ships here?" Swaine countered.

"I THINK IT'S PART OF THE MOTOR!" Mr. Drippy yelled.

"BRING IT DOWN WITH YOU!" Riya ordered.

Mr. Drippy reappeared with a box in hand. It was the exact some box Swaine tried to fix using his gun.

"It is the motor! Um, Oliver?" Riya said.

"Hm?" Oliver answered. "Do you want me to hold it in my bag?"

"Would you?" Riya asked with a smile.

Oliver willingly took the motor and placed it in his bag. They continued to walk around. It took them only a few more minutes until they found something. . . .

"It's . . ." Esther stood in awe. "It's a town."

In front of them stood a long line of buildings on their left and right sides. Every building was of the same style. Brown, gold and silver were prominent colors in the town. Other colors such as red and blue dazzled the town. It was not too quiet, nor was it too loud. It was the type of town that was innocent in many ways. Of course, being it a floating island town, not everything could be as it seemed.

"Riya," Oliver asked, "are floating island towns different from our towns, too?"

"Kind of," she answered, "they're a lot more violent than you think."

"You mean someone will try to kill us?" Swaine asked, a shocked expression plastered on his face.

"Just remember to act normally. No violence. No harsh words. Act nicely and decently. Even the slightest action can harm us." Riya shrugged.

"That's terrible," Esther mumbled.

"I want food," Mr. Drippy announced, running to the nearest building that smelled like food.

Everyone followed. Swaine, Esther and Oliver felt hesitant to walk around the town since Riya told them about the town's violence. They all entered a building smelling of hot food. Mr. Drippy entered first, dancing into the building. Swaine entered second, clutching at his gun in his pocket. Esther entered next, rubbing her arms. Oliver entered afterwards, a worried look quivering on his face. And Riya entered last, as normal as she could be.

"It's not as bad as she said," Swaine mumbled.

A knife soared through the air and nipped Riya's ear. Everyone turned to look at Riya. Oliver, Esther, Swaine, Mr. Drippy and Riya stared at a standing boy in the middle of the restaurant who was poised with his right arm at a low angle. The boy had a brown coat on, and he had a fierce look in his eyes.

He was looking at Riya.

* * *

 **I'm wondering if Swaine was hoping that Riya really was back at the ship.**

 **Who is the boy? What grudge does he have against Riya? Do Oliver, Esther, Swaine and Mr. Drippy have anything to do with it? Will Esther and Swaine feel pain again?**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Review if you liked it! :)**

 **Next time: "Chapter 5: Guns and Roses"**


	6. Guns and Roses

**AN: I'm going to tell you straightforwardly. This chapter is pretty much a flashback. I know that many people don't like flashbacks, especially when they take up a whole chapter. So I'm going to give you a warning.**

 **Readers, please have a virtual loyalty cookie. _Hands out virtual loyalty cookies._**

 **Disclaimer: Owning Ni No Kuni would be pretty cool, but he doesn't own it. Nor is he cool.**

* * *

Torin remembered everything from the last battle of the Warean and Siliven war. He even remembered how it started, and where he was when it started.

* * *

His older brother (then seventeen), Peter, had been wearing a fake crown on his head, wearing a just as fake smile on his face. It was not much of a smile and more of a menacing grin. That was what the Siliven royal family was known for. Gentle smiles came from the Warean royal family. Siliven was a place where the royal family was fierce and do anything for anything. They were greedy men, but it was the type of greedy that kept them alive. They loved their kingdom and their people as much as the Warean royal family.

The royal painter was in the middle of painting Peter back then. Peter had stared forward for almost an entire hour when his father ran into the room, startling Torin who was sitting in the corner playing with a sword.

"I would like for you to leave," the king said to the painter. "I need to talk to Peter." The painter bowed and left. Torin figured that he should leave to, but the king stopped him. "You stay here."

"What is it, Father?" Peter asked.

"We are ending this war with the next battle," the king stated.

"What does that have to do with me?" Peter wondered.

"The first thing is that you and your brothers will be observing the battle plans so all of you will know how to protect your own kingdoms," the king said. "The next is that after the soldiers move out, all of you are immediately moving to a new island."

"What?" Peter stood agape. "Why do we have to move?"

"The threats are more severe now! They are threatening all of you!" The king thundered.

"But this is Warean! It's most likely a bluff!" Peter objected.

"It's exactly that reason," the king reasoned. "We have no idea what Warean is capable of doing."

"Father," Torin interrupted, his five year old mind running, "then where will Mother go?"

Peter gave Torin a sympathetic look. "Mother . . . isn't going with us. Don't you understand-"

"But we can't just leave her there," Torin interjected. "She'll be lonely."

"Don't worry, Torin," the king said, "I will be her company. That's the price of this war."

"What?!" Peter was furious. "How could you say that? Torin doesn't understand any of this! He shouldn't be a part of this at all!"

"He shouldn't," the king yelled, "and because of that he must take part in it to understand!"

"But that means John will be coming, too, right?" Torin asked.

"Yes, John will be coming as well," the king answered. "You can go now, Torin. I'll call for you and your brothers later."

Torin took his wooden sword and shield and left the room. Once the doors closed, he placed the toys on the floor and listened for his father's and brother's voices.

"I can't believe you are trying to disregard my orders," the king said.

"I can't believe you are making Torin fight! He thinks of everything as a game. He can die!" Peter shouted.

"That's why you all will leave the island once we have planned everything out."

"I don't want Torin to die like everyone else!"

"You don't want Torin to die, so why do you not want me to risk everything now?" There was silence. "You will obey me, Peter, if you want your brothers to live." The king turned to the door and after a short while, so did Peter.

Torin scrambled for his toys and ran to his room.

* * *

"Our plan," the general announced, "is to launch a surprise attack on the Warean kingdom. We can use our cannons for the buildings at first. We will use a flame to light the bombs on fire. Once we take down the tallest building, there should be a fire surrounding the whole kingdom. The men will take their guns and weapons . . ."

Torin was not listening to the general. Instead, he was daydreaming about playing outside in the gardens. The gardens had tall hedges towering above even the king's head. The hedges were set up to make an intricate maze for the children of the royal family's pleasure. Torin spent much of his time in the maze, memorizing every turn and dead end. He would often ask John or Peter to play with him in the maze, but the answer was always: "Father wants me to do something. I'll play later." Torin did not mind very much back then.

"We're attacking from the front?" John asked.

"Yes, it's easier that way," the general answered. "The back is too heavily guarded."

"But wouldn't that mean the more experienced soldiers would be in the front?" Peter wondered.

"That's true," the general mumbled. "Warean isn't a place of fools."

"We are not targeting the guards. Order your men to dodge the guards as much as possible," the king commanded.

"Then who are we-" Peter began.

"Father," Torin asked, "why are we at war?"

Everyone was silent. At that moment, Torin still did not know that the reason was him. John broke the silence. "It's because we wanted a deal, but they refused."

"Why are we fighting about something like that?" Torin queried.

"I'll tell you the details later," the fifteen year old whispered. "Just listen to the general for now." Torin nodded in response.

"Who are we targeting, then?" Peter asked.

". . . The royal family," the king answered. "Especially the youngest."

"The princess?!" Peter and John unisoned.

"After all, that's what the deal was about," the king reminded.

* * *

"Torin," John said, "Peter and I want to play with you in the garden."

"Really?" Torin grinned.

"We still have some time before we have to go to the other island," Peter said.

The three brothers walked out to the garden. After playing around in the maze for a while, Torin brought up the war again.

"What was the deal?" he asked.

"Well, there's a princess in Warean," Peter explained. "The princess is only a few months younger than you."

"That means she's five like me, right?" Torin asked.

"Most likely," John answered. "Because you two are close in age, Father wanted you and her to get married."

Torin was slightly confused. "Why?"

"So that you and the kingdom could be rich and safe," John answered. "But the king of Warean didn't like the idea. He wasn't sure he could trust us with his daughter."

"Father thinks that they were being fools, letting such a deal go by," Peter explained. "If their princess married you, they would have gained money as well."

Torin did not really understand, yet he nodded. He then asked: "Can we go place roses on Mother's grave to say good-bye?"

The boys left the island only an hour later. They left in a grand flying ship. One of the very few in the world. They bid farewell to their people and their father. Torin also said good-bye to their mother. Nobody knew what they had gotten the boys into.

When the boys got to the other island. They were soaking wet, and had lost many of their belongings. They had encountered a storm along the way. All three boys were cold and scared the entire time they were on the island. Everyone did not like the boys who waltzed into the town with their regal suits. Everyone pointed guns in their faces.

Even so, Torin had still remained unaware of the significant meaning of the guns the men held and roses on his mother's grave.

Until his brothers left.

* * *

Over the course of that time, Torin grew resent towards everyone. He cursed every master of every house he could find. A master had killed Peter with overwork. He cursed every eighteen year old boy he encountered. An eighteen year old boy had killed John in the heat of a fight.

And everyone grew to fear him. They could beg for forgiveness and include the lousy and fake crying, but Torin would never forget the true meaning of the guns he held and the wilted roses on his parents' graves.

* * *

 **Will Torin ever forgive? Will he ever put down the guns in his hands? Will his encounter with Oliver, Mr. Drippy, Esther, Swaine and Riya go down with a fight?**

 **I hope you enjoyed! :) Please review if you liked it. I need all the emotional support I can get. TvT**

 **Next time: "Add One"**


	7. Add One

**Disclaimer: There is a 100% chance that she will never own Ni No Kuni.**

 **Have some Loyalty Cookies. They're chocolate chip.**

* * *

The boy quickly stepped to Riya. Muttering words along the way. As he neared her, Riya caught only the last few words. "—spoiled princess."

"What?" Riya said.

"You're so pretty, aren't you? Because your mother was always there to pick out the best dresses and brush your silky chocolate hair, huh? I bet you made everyone squeal with your looks and personality. You were absolutely happy. Absolutely perfect. You had everyone meet your every needs. I didn't get everything. I lost it. You escaped with everybody you loved. I escaped to only find that the ones I loved were already dead inside. You're such a princess. You hoping you'll be the queen one day?"

"Whatever you are implying," Riya whispered, "I suggest that you quiet it down."

"Afraid you'll grow a big head from all the praise you're getting from me? Is that why you're ordering me to be silent?"

"Why don't you shut your mouth before something unnecessary comes flying out your throat—like blood?"

"Come on, Princess. Admit it now. You will have power over everyone in this room if you tell them that you are superior. I can tell you from personal experience that they absolutely love royalty."

The two stood, silent. Everyone in the building was staring at them, wondering what would happen next. Some of the men had their hands on their weapons, readying themselves for a fight. Swaine, Oliver, Esther, and Mr. Drippy stared in shock at the two.

"I lost my family," the boy directed to Riya. "I lost my mother at the age of two. I lost my brothers at the age of eight. My father died in that war that your family caused. I lost my people. I lost my friends. I lost my home. They're all gone. Everything for me is gone."

"I seem to recall," Riya responded, "that my family and people were killed as well." The boy did not waver. "And I do think that you did not lose everything. If two sides of the same coin lost everything, there would be nothing. Yet, here we are. What do you want from me? Do you want me to suffer?" She paused. A sudden buildup of anger flared in her chest. _Do you want me to suffer?_ "Because I already have. And from the looks of it, so have you."

The boy stepped back once and let his right hand hover over another knife hanging on his belt. "What are you doing here?"

"Stuck," Riya answered, "like you."

"So I can kill you, help you leave, or," he murmured, "I can leave."

Oliver couldn't stand it anymore. "Ex- Excuse me. . . . What is it do you want from Riya?"

The boy turned to Oliver. "I want her gone."

"You can't say that you want someone to go away," Esther said. "You need to accept reality. We all do. We don't need to move on. Sometimes we never can, and it's all right."

"Esther's right. Nothing will come out of her going away," Oliver said. "It will only cause more pain. No matter what she did, you shouldn't wish for someone to go away. Sometimes you don't need to move. Sometimes you can stay where you are, but you still have to change something for the better of yourself. Why should you keep on tearing down when someone else tore you down when you always have a choice to build up?"

"You have to learn how to hold yourself back," Swaine added. "It's not right to hurt someone out of pure vengeance."

The other customers in the building started murmuring to each other. Suddenly they started shouting. The shouts continued to rise in volume. "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The shouts caused the owner of the restaurant to yell. "Quiet down! And if they are going to fight they'll take it outside!"

The cheers rose in response to the restaurant owner. The owner kept yelling, but he wasn't heard over the cheering and shouts. "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"Torin," Riya suddenly said, causing everyone to hush and the boy to turn to her, "why are you trying so hard to make everything worse?"

"If I make everything worse and then leave this world," Torin said, "don't you think the world is suffering and not me?"

"You—!" Riya burst out. She held back her words. "Why . . . why waste time trying to find your way to death? Can't you stop fighting yourself?"

"Don't try to cheer yourself up," Torin whispered softly, "by acting like you're cheering me up. It's so pathetic watching a dependent and spoiled princess try to save her life. Don't you need a prince on a white horse or a knight in shining armor for that?"

Riya's anger flew out of her mouth. "I can't believe you! You think that I'm that selfish? At least I would never try to end my own life in order to believe that it will make myself feel better! That's just plain stupid!"

"Are you trying to deny that you're suffering?" The boy almost started to laugh, but only chuckled once. "What are you trying to do exactly? Do you want me to suffer for making others suffer?"

"That's what you are doing!" Riya screamed, enraged at the boy's words. "Don't make people suffer or they will make you feel pain!"

Torin scowled. "Then what about the ones who made me like this? Don't you think they need to be lectured by a tough princess, too? Don't they need to realize what they have done to me?"

"You're trying to keep yourself away from reality. Stop distancing yourself from who you are and what the world can give you! Try to find what the world has to offer!"

"You're not doing too well yourself, Princess!" Torin flashed an insane look at Riya. "You must really be a hypocrite, because all you seem to do is pretend you're a tough, wise, and independent girl who can do everything herself."

Riya paused before whispering with anger. "I'm not. I can't."

"That's _exactly_ what I'm talking about," Torin said. "Once your facade fades away, all you can do is admit that you are pathetic. And you think it will keep you from pain because you believe that admitting yourself to others is the most courageous thing you can do. . . . But it's not." Torin stepped forward and brought the knife to her neck. Riya didn't react. She only stared into Torin's eyes. "Exactly. You are exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not scared Riya. So are you. But deep, deep down, the both of us _know_ that we're afraid. We're afraid of everything. It's why we want to leave this place."

Torin then placed the knife back in its pocket and turned to Oliver. He plastered an evil grin on his face. "Why should I build up," Torin mumbled, turning his head back to Riya, "when I have nothing to build with?"

Riya and the boy stared at each other, menacing gazes meeting. An evil aura filled the room. Oliver gasped. How could he not notice it sooner?

Riya's eyes turned into a ghastly red. She was still staring at Torin. Torin's eyes turned into the same color red. The evil aura crept up Oliver's skin and he shivered.

There were screams. Two of them. Oliver was afraid to turn around. He heard Mr. Drippy's voice behind him. He was shouting. Oliver wanted to look away from Riya and Torin, but he didn't want to turn around. Both sights terrified him.

"O- Oliver . . . !" Esther screamed. "It . . . it hurts!" She started gasping and fell to the floor. Her sobs couldn't be heard as the customers and the owner hurried out the building exiting out back. "Oliver!" she cried. "It hurts!"

Oliver closed his eyes out of fear.

"Oliver . . ." Swaine managed to say. "We're sorry, Oliver . . ."

Oliver blocked out Mr. Drippy's voice. This can't be happening. . . .

When Oliver opened his eyes, a familiar world had replaced the restaurant surroundings. This familiar world. . . . Oliver thought he didn't have to be afraid of this place anymore. But he was wrong. He was completely wrong. And instead of one Nightmare, there were two. And they weren't just fighting Oliver, they were targetting each other and Swaine, Esther, and Mr. Drippy.

"This . . . can't be happening."

* * *

 **AN: Sooooo . . . how was it? We now have a little action, huh? It was slow writing at first but when Riya and Torin were arguing it started flowing because I kind of feel the same as them.**

 **Will Oliver be able to defeat the two Nightmares? Are Swaine and Esther all right? What will happen to Riya and Torin? Will Torin and Riya learn to forgive? What is Riya's past?**

 **Please review if you liked it!**

 **Next time: Nightmares**


	8. Nightmares

**AN: Okayy... Turns out I'm not dead yet. Hope you like this chappie! Oh, and I finally got around finishing the post-game.**

 **Disclaimer: I really think I should stop this.**

* * *

"Oi! C'mon! You've got to listen to me. This isn't a normal nightmare battle." Mr. Drippy said.

"I know," Oliver mumbled. "I know. This is much worse. I can feel it." He reached for the wand in his belt.

"Astra," Oliver coaxed the memorization out of his mind. "Astra." Five lines made one stroke, another five made the second stroke. He lifted the wand and let the light gather to the wand. It was a swelling feeling. It always made him feel warm and safe. But he couldn't feel that this time. When the ball of light gathered, it surrounded the area. It swelled and danced in ribbons and streams until it disappeared into specks of light. Oliver gritted his teeth together. It wasn't enough.

Oliver lifted his wand again. "Astra..." He stroked the air twice. "Astra!" Another gust of light swirled around the area and burst into flecks of sparks. Oliver pursed his lips into a pout. This wasn't easy at all. How would this end?

The nightmares turned to him. They glided over in ease towards Oliver. Their arms stretched out menacingly at the boy. Thin, long fingers pricked out to grab him. Oliver ran away from their reach. They were fast, and were catching up to him quickly. He needed to outrun them somehow.

He sent out his mighty mite and willed him to run away from the nightmares. The familiar ran out to the back side of the nightmares swiftly. Once Oliver thought he was far enough, he told his familiar to stop. The familiar was standing with his sword in hand, silently taunting the two nightmares. They opened their black mouths and a black haze smoked out of the holes.

The smoke swirled in the air and towards the familiar's face. Oliver felt a hand clutch at his insides and deathly pang in his chest. The grip on his wand tightened and he ran his tongue over his teeth. That smoke was deadly. He needed to get his familiar away from it. He called the might mite back and the nightmares turned to him immediately. The feeling of despair ran through his spine and closed his eyes. Oliver brought up his wand and whispered the spell again.

"Astra..." His eyes slowly opened. The nightmares were creeping onto him and he lifted the wand up. The wand glowed and gathered all the light emanating from the wand. He outlined the Astra's rune. Unlike how the rune would usually disappear in a flash of sparks, it gathered to the wand and swirled in the light of Astra's spell. The light streamed from the wand to around Oliver's hands. The ribbons spiraled around his wrists and arms and soon wrapped around his entire body. The spell took time to prepare; the nightmares were closing in on him.

The ribbon snapped in strings of light that shot out to the nightmares. And then Oliver heard their screams.

Screams of fear rang out in the inside of his head. One was high-pitched and yelled out in lashes of frenzy. The other called and echoed out the names of numerous strangers to Oliver. Both of them resonated in the fear it was projecting to themselves. That was the problem. The screams weren't heard in the air. It was heard in his mind loudly and clearly.

"Mr. Drippy... what was that?" Oliver asked, his eyes wide in shock. "It was different from before."

"I don't know, but I reckon you might be getting stronger," the fairy shared. He jumped in front of Oliver. "Try doing it again!"

Oliver saw the two nightmares heading towards Oliver and Swaine. He shouted out to them and they instantly turned their necks in a gruesome twist. Oliver cringed at the sight, but continued calling them towards him. Anything to protect his friends.

His eyes settled on his target, Oliver repeated the same actions he used in the previous Astra. He exhaled slowly and closed his eyes before starting. Opening his eyes, he whispered the spell under his breath and traced its rune. The light gathered at the wand and spiraled in the area normally. It spilled out and hit the nightmares. Oliver frowned. "It's normal..."

Mr. Drippy shook his head. "What's going on here?"

Oliver ran his tongue over his teeth again. Something was different this time. He would find out later.

They're getting weaker, Oliver noticed. They're slower now and their attacks are weakening. That strange Astra must have really hit them hard.

He sent out an Arrow of Light right before Riya's nightmare could grab him by the arm. He dodged Torin's attack and ran behind them to buy some time. He sent out his mighty mite again and sent him towards the opposite direction to divert the attention to the familiar. The two nightmares did as Oliver thought and the boy furrowed his brows. Now what? Another Astra? Maybe he should try the abnormal Astra again. But what was different between those two times? Surely he did it the exact same way it was done with the abnormal spell. Then what was different...?

He sent the familiar back and the nightmares quickly dashed towards Oliver. He was about to cast a spell out of surprise, but he was caught short by prickling fingers.

The fingers turned into ribbons of a dark matter and enveloped his body. The ribbons felt sticky and rough on his exposed skin. The ribbons branched out more and more until the only body parts uncovered were his feet, hands, and face. The backs of Oliver's eyes stung and he fought the urge to let the tears fall. Then there were more screams. One thumped hurtfully in the back of Oliver's mind, another resounded out of his mouth. Countless words of meaning but no purpose echoed out of Oliver's mouth.

"Peter!" he gurgled out. "John! Dad!" Trickles of pain inched down his back, slowly becoming more painful than the previous prick. Lashes of blue pain coursed through his body like a throbbing heart. Oliver was sure that blood was spilling out from holes in his flesh. Or maybe he was just going crazy. Another scream crashed his mind and his mouth instantly echoed. _"Mom!_ "

Then Oliver's body broke away from the spirals of black ribbons. Unconsciously, Oliver's arms lifted up the wand and his entire body was outlined and enveloped in a blinding light. His wand stroked an unknown rune in the air and a sudden gust of wind swirled in the battleground. Esther and Swaine watched in pain as this happened, but suddenly a warm feeling of safety streamed throughout their body. Mr. Drippy stood in shock and admiration as the nightmares fell to the ground in defeat.

The background disappeared in a block of dust and so did the nightmares. Riya and Torin's bodies replaced the monsters and coughed in pain. Oliver fell to the floor in a mix of pain and physical and emotional tire. Esther and Swaine ran over to the three as soon as they gained their momentum back. Mr. Drippy jumped towards Oliver. Esther quickly sat beside Oliver's tired body.

"C'mon, Ollie-boy! You did it! You defeated the two nightmares on your own!"

"I'm so sorry, Oliver! I can't believe we couldn't help you defeat them! We don't know what came over us!" Esther cried.

Swaine knelt down beside Esther. "And for some reason everything was okay when you cast that last spell. Do you remember casting it?" Swaine asked.

"What?" Oliver mumbled. His eyes felt like they were glued shut, but he opened them reluctantly. "I don't remember casting a spell... I just feel really tired all over." He shut his eyes and lay on the floor, resting. It felt so good to have a cool sensation on his back from the floor. He was so hot and tired... It was almost as if...

"Oliver?" Esther called. Her face looked worried. Oliver's own face was red and beads of sweat rolled down his head. She placed a hand on his forehead and pulled away quickly. "He's burning up!"

"We've got to get the three of them to a bed quickly, then," Swaine muttered. He made way to stand up, but Esther pulled his arm back down.

"No! You feel his forehead!" Esther ordered.

"What's the deal? He's sick, so we have to-"

"Just do it!" Esther snapped. Swaine scoffed at her before kneeling back down.

Quickly, he placed the back of his hand on Oliver's head. The instant contact with the fiery burning sensation caused his arm to pull back. "That's an abnormal temperature!"

Mr. Drippy looked towards the two other figures on the floor. He walked over to them and observed their condition. Both of them were shivering and curled up in balls. A worried expression on his face, he studied their faces. The both of them were pallid! Their veins were visible underneath their whitened skin, and tints of blue colored their cheeks. "I think you should check these two as well!"

Esther scrambled to the both of them. She placed her hands on each forehead and frowned when her arms brushed away instantly. "They're deathly cold... What's wrong with these three?"

* * *

 **AN: Not going to lie, writing the part when Oliver was being hurt by Torin's nightmare was a bit fun. It's not that I hate Oliver-I love him. I just feel that describing pain is easy. Also, any suggestions for familiars and nicknames? Please send some help...**

 **Are Oliver, Torin, and Riya going to be alright? What exactly happened in the battle between Oliver and the nightmares? Will the gang find a way to save each other? What was the spell Oliver used at the end of the battle? Can anyone give Oliver some answers?**

 **Next time: Friend?**


End file.
